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IDEAL INNOVATIONS - COMMENTS & FEEDBACK
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Date:2006-09-14
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| Name: Harry Smith |
| Email: hsmith237@cogeco.ca |
Comments: Syd,
I have been listening to my Custom 40 amp (new chasis)for a few weeks now, and I have to say that I am really pleased with the sound. Whether it's late night jazz from the CBC or JazzFM, or Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, or something from my CD collection, the sound quality is improved across the board by several orders of magnitude. Once again I can hear individual instruments in the band...and they sound real!
I can hardly wait to get the preamp. Don't hurry, though....just do what you do. It works!
Thanks for building a great amp!
Harry Smith |
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Date:2006-05-22
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| Name: Nhan Hoang |
Comments: I purchased a Custom-30 amp from Syd about a year ago. When I first received the amp, I was amazed at how well and secure it was packed. It took me almost an hour to unpack this amp (which is a good thing). I hooked up the amp to the speakers in my office (Sequerra Met. 7s) and sat down to have a listen. The sound was good, very clean and dynamic. The only issue I had with the amp was that there seemed to be an imbalance between the left and right channel causing the soudstage and images to skew to the right. I tried adjusting the right and left volume control but could never adjust it to where the soundstage seemed balanced to me. I have had my Sequerra speakers hooked up to some really good amps in the past and I know how precise a soundstage they can throw at you. Yet I was having trouble with the soundstaging of the Custom 30. I used this amp for 2 weeks to see if it would get better, but I was still having the same problem. I even hooked up this amp to my system in my main listening room (consisting of Cary 805 amps driving Edhar Horn speakers) and the Edgars also showed an imbalanced soundstage. Note that this imbalance isn't out-right obvious, but because I have been a long time fanatic about soundstaging detail and imaging that any little nuance causes some distraction for me. Anyways, I decided that I shouldn't expect miracles with the price that I paid for this amp especially since I was using it for just casual listening in my office. So I wrote to Syd and told him that the amp was good (which it was) and I was satisfied, just that I had a little bit of trouble with channel imbalance. Syd wrote me back stating that he was concerned that I was having trouble with the imbalance of the amp, and that he wanted me to send him back the amp so that he could retest it for me. I could not believe it; this guy truly cares about his customers! I didn't say the amp was broken, I didn't say the amp was defective, I didn't even buy one of his top models, in fact I bought one of his cheapest models, yet Syd was still willing to work with me to make sure that I was completely satisfied.
So I sent the amp back to Syd, and after some discussions we decided to do away with the separate volume controls for each channel. Syd modified the amp to having just one volume control and a channel balance at no extra cost. I have received the amp back from Syd and have been listening to the amp for about a year now and the imbalance between the channels is gone. And after a year of listening to this amp, what are my impressions of it so far? Well here goes my feeble attempt at being an audio reviewer: After first impressions, I didn't expect much from this amp, but after a year of listening to it I have come to find that this amp is truly good. By truly good do I mean that it has dynamics, clear midrange, extended highs, tight bass and so on and so on? Yes it has all of those audio drivel descriptions that audio reviewers like to use so much when describing components. However for me what makes this amp truly good is that it makes the music sound natural and whole (audio drivel?). This amp is able to bring the performers and instruments in front of you with a sense of wholeness and ease. When a singer is presented in front of you, you sense that they are there with a sweetness and liquidity that all tube lovers strive for. Compared to some of the other tube amps I have listened to (AR, C-J, Sonic Frontiers and others) I feel that this amp can best most of those other amps. Is this amp as good as my main amp, the Cary 805s? No, I do feel that single-ended triodes have an intimacy and romantic naturalness to them that push-pulls cannot match. I know Syd also makes SE amps, and I would recommend anyone looking to get into the realm of SE magic to consider giving Syd's a try. I haven't heard his SE amps, but if his push-pull amp can sound this good, his SE amp might be very interesting. Anyways, this is a wonderful amp from a company that truly believes in customer service. Highly recommended |
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Date:2006-04-14
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| Name: Toshiro Ogawa |
| Comments: I recently purchased Custom-60 with 6550EH tubes. I am very pleased with the defined mellow, but crisp sound it creates. The visual design is very simple and functional, and the black painted chassis reflects the warm glow of the tubes in dimly lit room. I like it a lot. |
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